Bocchi the Rock! Compilation Films, Touken Ranbu Kai Prequel Anime Stream on Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll screened both Bocchi the Rock! films as a single theatrical release in the U.S. and Canada under the title BOCCHI THE ROCK! Recap Part 1 & 2 on October 6-8. The films also screened in the U.K. on October 7, France on October 15, and Australia on October 17. The total runtime of the combined films is 165 minutes.Bocchi the Rock! Re:, the first of the two compilation films, opened in Japan on June 7. The film sold 140,000 tickets and earned 218,470,888 yen (about US$1.38 million) in its first three days. Bocchi the Rock! Re:Re:, the second of the two compilation films, opened in Japan on August 9. The film earned 218,143,560 yen (about US$1.46 million) in its first three days.The first film's opening sequence features newly created animation set to Kessoku Band's new song "Tsukinami ni Kagayaki" (Sparkle as Usual). Ai Higuchi wrote the lyrics, -otoha- composed the song, and Ritsuo Mitsui arranged the song.The anime adapts Aki Hamaji's four-panel manga Bocchi the Rock!, which follows Hitori "Bocchi-chan" ("Loner") Gotō, a lonely high school girl whose heart lies in her guitar. She does nothing every day except strum her guitar by herself at home. However, she happens one day to meet Nijika Ijichi, who is looking for a guitarist for her group named "Kessoku Band."Keiichirō Saitō (ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept. Regards) directed the first season at CloverWorks. Erika Yoshida (Lupin III: Part IV) supervised and wrote the series scripts. Kerorira (animation director for Wonder Egg Priority) designed the characters.The anime will have a second season. Touken Ranbu Kai: Kyoden Moyuru Honnōji is the anime adaptation of the Touken Ranbu Kyoden Moyuru Honnōji stage play. The eight-episode anime premiered in April 2024.Kazuya Ichikawa (Bakugan, Monster Strike the Animation) directed both anime at Domerica. The play's director and playwright Kenichi Suemitsu (Welcome to the Ballroom, Delico's Nursery) returned to oversee and write the series scripts. Mari Takada (Bakugan, Monster Strike the Animation) designed the characters, and Ryūnosuke Kasai (7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life, Fluffy Paradise, Love After World Domination) composed the music. Touken Ranbu Kyoden Moyuru Honnōji is the first of 15 non-musical stage plays based on the Touken Ranbu Online game (thus far). The play follows Fudō Yukimitsu, the (anthropomorphized) sword that real-life legendary leader Oda Nobunaga received from his attendant Mori Ranmaru. The Touken Ranbu "sword personification training game" takes famous swords from Japanese history and interprets them as bishōnen. Nitroplus designed the characters and scenario. The game launched in Japan in January 2015.The franchise has inspired the Katsugeki: Touken Ranbu television anime series and an upcoming anime film, as well as the Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru spinoff's two anime series, an anime film trilogy, and a compilation anime film. The franchise has also inspired two live-action films, a series of stage musicals and a series of stage plays, as well as various manga. Johren released the original Touken Ranbu browser game in English in April 2021, and released the smartphone version of the game in August 2021. Johren shut down the game's English and Chinese versions in August 2023.An anime of Sanrio's Wanpaku! Touken Ranbu project was also announced in January 2024. The Touken Ranbu: Tsuki no Tsurugi Enishi no Kiri no wa kabuki stage play had screenings in Japanese theaters starting in April 2024. Source: Crunchyroll (link 2) via @AIR_News01
